Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Kabila--Union City, CA (Indian cuisine)

For an authentic taste of India, this long-standing establishment has a restaurant as well as a sweet shop inside. The lines for the sweets can go out the door during weekends or certain holidays, and I can attest to their deliciousness. Located at 29286 Union City Blvd., Kabila shares a parking lot with several other businesses. The service is relaxed but friendly, and the food is served piping hot. With the success of this flagship location, they opened up a second location in Santa Clara this year, which I will happily check out if in the area.

Here are some of the things I've enjoyed.


http://www.kabilarestaurant.com/



Lamb Samosa. These were delightful pillows of fried goodness with minced lamb, peas and aromatic spices. The chutneys were tamarind and cilantro and they added a nice sweetness or acidic zing to each bite.





Goat Curry. This was ordered with medium heat and the spices and flavors melded exceptionally well together. The goat was cooked until very tender and there was enough rich sauce to cling nicely to some naan. This very much reminded me of some of the dishes I had while traveling through India.





Chicken Biryani. Seasoned with saffron and cooked with spiced chicken and fresh onions and peppers. This was a fragrant and flavorful dish that was a little sweet, a little spicy and very savory and delicious.





Naan. This was a comforting plain leavened bread, but there was nothing plain about it. It had wonderful bits of char, buttered with ghee and worked great for sopping up sauces.






Not sure what this sweet was called, but it was not included in the "combo" box price. It was, of course, my favorite though. It had a great toffee-like texture, but more porous, so it was easier to chew. The fragrant caramel sweetness and the crunchy nuts were fantastic together.






In this combo box, from left to right, were plain barfi (made with powdered milk), sandwich gulab jamun (deep fried dough soaked in syrup), laddu (also a fried dough), and pista barfi (made with milk powder and pistachios). Each item was sweet, had a nice texture, and were perfumed with saffron or cardamom. It was great to get a mixed box so I could get some of my favorites as well as try some unfamiliar items. 



I will definitely go back for delicious dishes or even just for a box of sweets. I would highly recommend a visit if in the area.